- a.Only one
- b.Only two
- c.Only three
- d.All four
Answer: (C) Only three
PSC's final answer key gives (C), 'Only three'. Two pairs are beyond doubt: sal (Shorea robusta) is the dominant natural tree of the lateritic forests of Bankura, and sundari (Heritiera fomes) is the mangrove that gives the Sundarbans of South 24 Parganas its name. Pine, however, is naturally a tree of the Darjeeling-Kalimpong hills and not of the Cooch Behar plains, and the baobab (Adansonia) is an African species found in India only as an introduced tree, so by standard forest geography only two pairs look correct; the PSC has not said which third pair it accepts. For revision: North Bengal plains, sal, sissoo, khair and simul; hills, oak, pine, rhododendron and magnolia; Sundarbans, sundari, garan, gewa, keora and hental; coastal Purba Medinipur, casuarina (jhau).